Automobile steering-gear.



PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

W. Y. GAMBEE. AUTOMOBILE STEERING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1" No. 801,000 PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905. I W. Y. GAMBEE.

AUTOMOBILE STEERING GEAR.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z I I I Mme/Whom WILLIAM GAMBEE wheels 2 in the usualmanner.

WILLIAM Y. GAMBEE, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

AUTOMOBILE STEERINGGEAR.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application filed February 4, 1905. Serial No. 244,121.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Y. GAMBEI a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomobileSteering-Gear, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to steering-gear for automobiles or other vehicles,and provides means whereby such steering-gears and their connections arematerially strengthened without causing the parts to appear clumsy andby which means are provided for taking up all wear or lost motion.

Figure 1 represents in plan view the steering-gear, front shaft, andfront wheels of an automobile or like vehicle. Fig. 2 is a like view ofthe detached portion on a large scale. Figs. 3 and 4 are verticalsections showing details of construction, Fig. 3 showing a somewhatmodified form. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1,showing in addition a part of the vehicle-base. Fig. 6, enlarged, showsa portion of Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 show details.

1 designates the front shaft of an automobile, at the ends of which areswiveled the To the inner ends of the spindles 21, on which the wheels 2revolve, are rigidly secured yoke-levers 3, which extend both forwardlyand rearwardly from their central points and have pivotallyattachedsockets 31 at their ends. Secured at any convenient point, preferably onthe stationary axle 1, is a yoke 4, to the upper side of which ispivoted a cross-head or four-armed lever 41. To the forwardly andrearwardly extending arms 42 of the lever 41 are pivoted double-endedsockets 43, connected by rods 44 45 with the sockets 31 on the two-armedlevers 3. The ends of the rods 44 45 are preferably right and leftthreaded, so that their turning may serve to screw together or forceapart the sockets 43 and 31, which they connect. I have shown the rods44 as having hexagonal blocks 46 rigidly secured thereon to engage anordinary wrench; but it is understood that this is for convenience only,the rods 45 being not so provided and being adapted to be turned by aStilson or like pipe wrench or by tongs.

At the outer ends of the laterally-extending arms 47 of the lever 41 arepivoted sockets 48, from each of which a rod 50 extends rearwardly to atwo-armed lever 51, secured on the axle 52 by a segmental rack 53. Withthe bevel-teeth of the rack 53 mesh the teeth of a bevel and preferablysegmental gear 6, the inclined axle 61 of which passes upwardly throughthe base 7 of the vehicle and may ofcourse be provided at its upper endwith a wheel, lever, or other steering-handle. (Not shown.) The axles 52and 61 of the rack 51 and pinion 6, respectively, have bearing in abracket 71, secured below the base or bottom of the automobile. At theends of all the connecting-rods 44, 45, and 50 are preferably placedjam-nuts 8 to prevent accidental disengagement.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings a connecting-rod 94,corresponding in position to the rod 44 of Fig. 1, is shown as in twoparts, right and left threaded at their adjacent ends and connected by arightand-left coupling 96. This is obviously a mere equivalent for thetake-up device above described and is introduced to illustrate the factthat other mechanical alterations can be made in the form andarrangement of parts without departing from my invention.

It will be seen that my invention covers much more than a mereduplication of the connecting-rods of former devices in that it makes ofthe connected parts a rigid truss, whereby loosening of parts due tovibration is eliminated and ready means provided for taking up all slackor lost motion caused by wear. To prevent running off ofautomobilewheels, it is customary to gather them 2'. a, to slightlyconverge them toward their front'edges. My device enables this to bedone with great exactness, so that running off, on the one hand, and theunequal wear of tires, on the other hand, are both avoided.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a vehicle steering-gear, two-armedlevers secured to the wheel-spindles,a fourarmed lever pivotedintermediate said spindlelevers, a connection between each end of saidspindle-levers and corresponding ends of two arms of said intermediatelever, and steeringgear for turning said intermediate lever connected tothe other two arms thereof.

2. In a vehicle steering-gear, two-armed levers secured to'thewheel-spindles, a lever having corresponding arms pivoted intermediatesaid spindle-levers, a longitudinally-adjustable connection between eachend of said spindle-levers and corresponding ends of said intermediatelever, and steering gear for turning said intermediate lever.

3. In a vehicle steering-gear, two-armed levers secured to thewheel-spindles, a lever having corresponding arms pivoted intermediatesaid spindle-levers, pivotally-attached sockets at each end of each ofsaid levers, and longitudinally-adjnstablc rods connecting said sockets.

4:. In a vehicle steering-gear, two-armed levers secured to thewheel-spindles, a lever having corresponding arms pivoted intermediatesaid spindle-levers, pivotally-attached sockets at each end of each ofsaid levers, and means common to said sockets and said rods for varyingthe effective length of the latter.

5. In a vehicle steering-gear, a two-armed pivoted lever, means forturning said lever on its pivot to steer the vehicle, a leverintermediate of and connected to the vehicle wheelspindles and havingarms corresponding to those of said first-named lever, and aconnecting-rod between each end of each of said levers.

6. In a vehicle steering-gear, two-armed levers secured to thewheel-spindles, a fourarmed lever pivoted intermediate said spindlelevers, a rotatable steering-head, a two-armed lever secured tosaid steering-head for turning therewith, connections between each armof each of said spindle-levers and each end of the corresponding arms ofsaid four-armed lever, and connections between each arm of saidsteering-head lever and each of the other arms of said four-armed lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM Y. GAMBEE.

Witnesses:

E. VAN ZANDT, H. L. OBERTEUFFER.

